


Danger on the ANT Farm

by heartfemme



Category: A.N.T. Farm, Henry Danger (TV)
Genre: Multi, don't clown the title I'm working on it, man did we ever get confirmation of char's last name? is it page or page bolton?, yes this is the most self indulgent fic I will ever write...
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2020-10-06 07:20:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20503055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartfemme/pseuds/heartfemme
Summary: When Henry and the gang all leave to Palo Alto for a school exchange, they're glad to be getting a break from their fast-paced crime-fighting in Swellview, but with a school packed full of prodigies and high tech secrets, just how relaxing can this exchange be?





	1. Leave? For My Employees?

**Author's Note:**

> OKay so disclaimer: I don't own Henry Danger, or ANT Farm and their characters, those all belong to Nickelodeon and Disney respectively. I am also not American, so I did my best research wise, but I may have a skewed vision of the school system and how it works + the distance between cities and states! Other than that, enjoy, and please leave feedback (it's really appreciated) [finger guns]. let's get it!

“Sorry , you want to apply for what?” Ray asks incredulously, half eaten corn chip frozen in midair. 

“Leave,” Charlotte repeats. “You know. The annual leave we’re all entitled to as your employees?”

“The annual leave none of us have taken since we started working here?” Henry finishes, shooting Ray a look that lets him know he can’t worm out of this one. 

Ray looks around, avoiding Charlotte, Jasper, and Henry’s stares as he tries to think of a reason why they can’t possibly leave Swellview for a whole _ week _. 

“Um. I don’t remember _ ever _saying you guys could take leave. Must’ve made that up,” he scoffs. He finishes off his chip as the three teens shoot each other knowing looks. 

“Actually, it’s in the employee handbook,” Jasper states opening up his worn employee handbook to a tabbed page. He hands it to Ray, and points expectantly at a sentence highlighted in bright yellow, then circled in red, and underlined in blue. 

Just in case Ray misses it. 

Ray looks from the page, to the teens, and then back the page. There’s an awkward pause before Charlotte sighs in exasperation.

“Read it.”

“Yeah dude read it,” Henry repeats. 

“Yeah read-”

“Jasper.”

“Sorry,”Jasper chuckles sheepishly. 

Ray sighs, reluctantly letting his eyes travel over the words.

“All employees of Junk ‘N Stuff are entitled to three weeks of paid annual leave for every year that they are employed at this establishment,” Ray pauses, “Hold on - _ paid _?”

“Yup,” the three teens reply in unison. 

“So, not only do I have to let you guys _ leave _ for a week. But I have to _ pay _you? This is ridiculous. Who wrote this?”

“You did, dude. It says so on the first page.”

Ray turns to the front, and sure enough, on the first page, in bold, hard to miss letters are the words “written by Ray Manchester, your handsome employer, and owner of the fine establishment known as Junk ‘N Stuff”. 

“Told you,” Henry says smugly, leaning onto the revolving couch. 

“Okay, fine whatever, leave approved. But why do you need leave? Aren’t you guys starting school soon? You can’t miss school!”

Charlotte makes a noise of disbelief, and Jaspers eyebrows shoot up, while Henry’s jaw drops. 

“Dude. What?” Henry asks in disbelief.

“I just think, that as your employer and the only positive adult role model for you guys,”

“Not true at all but carry on,” Charlotte mumbles.

Ray glares at her before continuing, “I just think that I should encourage you to make good choices. And skipping school for a week isn’t one of them.”

“Dude, I had to leave halfway through a test to rescue you because you’d trapped yourself underground.”

Ray narrows his eyes at Henry.

“Oh yeah, and remember that time you gave our teacher _ chicken-pox _so you could investigate Ortho?” Charlotte adds.

“I still can’t believe that was you. But it makes sense. Your accent was kinda off,” Jasper muses. 

“Both emergencies, and my accent is spot on. I receive many compliments.”

Jasper, Charlotte, and Henry all roll their eyes.

“You guys still haven’t answered my question. Why are you missing the first week of school?”

“Technically, we aren’t,” Charlotte starts. 

“Our school was picked by the owner of the Z-Tech boarding school for prodigies to participate in their yearly ‘immersive experience’,” Henry continues. 

“Wait wait wait wait. Pause,” Ray interrupts, “You mean to tell me all three of you are going away. To a school for _ prodigies _?”

“Exactly, ” Charlotte confirms with a nod of her head.

“I don’t think I’m quite following,” Ray says, evidently perplexed. He’d expected some excuse about a school history trip, maybe even a math tournament (although he was still pretty sure Charlotte had made those up to get out of finding Dr. Minyak for him). But a week long stint at a school for _ prodigies _? That seemed like something Charlotte would dream up. 

“Okay, well the best way I can explain it is, it’s kinda like, this school owned by a multi-billionaire made specifically for nurturing people’s natural talents, and every year they pick a school to send over their gifted and talented students to experience their teaching methods,” Jasper continues. 

“And since Swellview High doesn’t have a “gifted and talented” society, L.I.M.P is going,” Charlotte finishes. 

Ray nods, understanding dawning on him, before he pauses again. 

“So if it’s a L.I.M.P thing, why are those two going,” he gestures to Henry and Jasper, who both look offended. 

“First of all, who says we aren’t L.I.M.P material? Rhetorical question, don’t answer it,” Henry says before either Charlotte or Ray can get a word in. 

“Second of all, the two of us get to go because, get this,” he nudges Jasper and nods towards Charlotte, “Charlotte told Ms. Shapen that this would be a ‘good opportunity’ for Jasper and me to ‘immerse ourselves in school’ and ‘put us on track for a productive senior year’. And she bought it, can you believe it?” 

Henry and Jasper fist bump, a smug look plastered across both their faces, but one look at Charlotte and Ray knows that they won’t be wearing those looks for too long into the exchange. Not wanting to destroy their moment, Ray asks:

“So where are we going? Where is this prodigies only school?”

Jasper and Henry stop jostling each other, both turning to Ray in bewilderment. 

“We?” Charlotte questions. 

“Yeah, we. I guess we could _ all _use vacation time.”

“Dude, first of all, it’s just the three of us,” Henry points between, him, Charlotte and Jasper, “and second of all, it’s a school trip. Meaning you can’t come with us unless you’re a teacher, or like, a helicopter parent.”

Ray looks confused then, brows furrowing as he comes up with his next question. 

“So what am I supposed to do? Fight crime with Schwoz?”

“Yes!” all three yell in unison, arms flying into the air in exasperation. 

Ray groans, throwing his hands over his face. 

“Okay. OKAY _ fine _, you guys can have your little ‘immersive experience’. I’ll just stay in boring old Swellview while you guys go to,” Ray pauses. They never did tell him where they were going. 

“Palo Alto,” Jasper fills in. 

“Palo Alto - thank you Jasper - and have the time of your lives. That’s okay. That’s fine.”

“Well, glad that’s sorted?” Charlotte gives him a thumbs up, as she, Henry, and Jasper make their way to the elevator. 

“Wait. Where are you going?” Ray asks. 

“Dude, the exchange is in a week, we have a final meeting at school to get to. You know to sort out the final little details,” Jasper explains as the three of them pile into the elevator. 

“Oh. well. You have _ fun _ at your little _ meeting _.”

“We will. Bye!” Henry shouts as the doors of the elevator shut, leaving Ray in the silence of the man cave. 

Just then, Schwoz appears, robe on and a towel piled on top of his head. 

“What did I miss?”

He’s barely finished the question when Ray launches into an answer. 

“Can you believe Henry, Charlotte, and Jasper just came in here to ask for _ leave _?”

Schwoz gasps, hand over his chest. 

“No. Did you give it to them?”

“Yes I had to give it to them. It’s in the employee handbook!”

Schwoz stomps his foot, letting out a shout. 

“No! We really should have read that before giving it to them. How long are they going to be gone?”

“One. Whole. Week.” Ray punctuates each word with a dip of his chip into the Schwozamole. 

“One whole- Ray. what are we going to do? Handle crime together? Just the two of us?” 

“That’s what _ I _asked!”

The two of them look at each other for a bit, thinking of a way to somehow make this apparently bleak situation not so bleak. A moment passes before a look of mischief crosses Ray’s face. 

“What are you thinking?” Schwoz asks, curious to hear what Ray’s cooking up. 

“Henry said we can’t go on that trip unless we’re teachers, or parents,”

“Yes?” Schwoz leans in. 

“So, I’m thinking. If we can somehow get the teachers to not go,”

“Then we could go on the trip with them,” Schwoz nods, stroking his chin. 

“But how do we get their teachers to stay home?” Ray asks.

Another beat passes before he shoots up. 

“AHA!I know exactly how. Schwoz, do you still have that weird virus that almost killed all of us?”

“Yes, why?”

“You’re gonna need to make a few tweaks. But I think I found us a way onto that trip.”


	2. Welcome... To the A.N.T Farm!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I took a really long hiatus from writing, because of school, work and personal life, but I'm gonna try be more consistent with updates!

Charlotte pulls her hoodie up, tightening the draw strings in an attempt to keep the autumn chill at bay. Behind her, Henry and Jasper struggle with her bag, grunting and panting as they try to load it into the luggage hold on the coach. She could go help them, but pulling a muscle is the last thing she needs; after all, this trip is supposed to be relaxing, and a chance to step out of her ordinary all-sounder role. Yes. This week will be blissful, no responsibility (besides making sure that Jasper and Henry actually internalise some of the teachings of the Z-Tech boarding school of course), and absolutely no Captain-Man and Kid Danger activity. Paradise. 

“Done,” Jasper’s voice comes from beside her. 

His face is red from exertion and he’s doubled over, hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath. 

“Dude, I think I put my back out. What’s in your bag?”

“Clothes, hair stuff, books,” Charlotte lists, struggling to keep a smile off her face as she watches Jasper. 

She knew her bag was heavy (which was why she’d had Schwoz lend her the anti-grav - Ray didn’t know of course - and she’d gotten to school early so no one else would see her use it) but Henry and Jasper hadn’t given her the chance to use it, instead offering to haul her bag for her because how could someone as small as her lift all that weight?

“Can one of those books tell us how to become chiropractors because I think I’ll need one after that,” Henry groans. 

Charlotte chuckles. She doesn’t need half the stuff in her bag, but again, maybe if they hadn’t jumped to conclusions, then they wouldn’t be in their current state. 

“Oh get over it. It’s just one bag, besides, there were two of you hauling it.”

“Yeah. But it’s like you have a tiny elephant in there. Do you have a tiny elephant in there?” Jasper questions.

Henry and Charlotte stare at him incredulously. 

“No, I don’t have a tiny elephant in there? That’s ridiculous,” Charlotte answers. 

“Yeah Jasper, that’s ridiculous. Where would she get a tiny elephant? And you _know _her mom wouldn’t let her keep it anyway,” Henry adds. 

Charlotte wants to correct him. To let him know that actually, the reason she can’t possibly have a tiny elephant in her suitcase is because the suitcase has no ventilation and if she had a tiny elephant she’d need another suitcase to put her actual possessions in. But she figures she’s had enough fun for now, and remains silent, watching as the two boys (unsuccessfully) attempt to crack each other’s backs. 

She checks her watch. 07:15 am. She looks around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Ms. Shapen and Mr. Finch. The coach driver is tapping his foot impatiently, Sidney and Oliver are bickering, and while Charlotte is too far to hear any substantive arguments, she catches the words “tush” and “bimple” far too many times for her to be comfortable. She shudders. Whatever they’re arguing about can’t be serious, but it can’t be healthy either. Debby Putch has already secured herself a seat on the coach, her pillow propped up, and her backpack sitting comfortably on the seat next to her, sending a clear message: this is a Putch only zone.

“Hey, kid. Where are your teachers, they shoulda been here almost half an hour ago. We need to get moving if we wanna get there in time,” The coach driver states in a rough voice.

He’s still tapping his foot, looking at Charlotte like she somehow knows the locations of these two adults with whom she doesn’t interact with past the regular day-to-day greeting. 

Before she can explain that she, a 17 year old, has no idea where her teachers, who she is not friends with, are, a car screeches into the parking lot. 

Everyone freezes. 

“Finally,” the bus driver says, “I was beginning to think we’d never lea-”

Silence falls over the parking lot as two people exit the car.

Charlotte, Henry, and Jasper look at each other, shocked. 

Oliver and Sidney take a pause in their argument, confusion apparent on their faces. Debby Putch looks up from her phone, shaking her head and popping her earbuds in, deciding to ignore the scene outside. 

“Ms. Shapen and Mr. Finch?” the bus driver hazards, but even he can tell that he’s completely missed the mark. 

“Oh no. I’m afraid they couldn’t make it today. Got a deathly case of the flu they did,” one of the adults answers. He’s taller, with thick rimmed glasses, and a strong British accent. 

“Terrible stuff, we heard. Description of symptoms made my stomach turn,” the other one answers. This one’s shorter, dressed like someone out of a 70s ski catalogue, and speaks with a heavy Russian-inspired accent. 

“So if they aren’t here. Who are you guys?” 

The bus driver’s getting impatient now, the crew should leave if they have any hopes of getting to Palo Alto in time. 

“We’re their replacements. Mr Gelding,” the tall one, Mr Gelding, starts.

“And Mr. Voskoboynikov,” the shorter one finishes. 

“Hey, aren’t you the guy who killed Ortho’s dad?” Oliver asks, suspicion colouring his face. 

Ray - Mr. Gelding - scoffs. 

“I didn’t kill him. He _fainted_.”

“That’s not how _I _remember it,” Oliver says, hands on his hips.

“Yeah well. You have bad memory _obviously_. He _fainted _and I took him to the nurse,” Ray fires back, not liking the idea of being challenged by a 17 year old. 

The two look ready to launch into a full debate, but they’re interrupted by Henry.

“Look, it doesn’t _matter _what happened back then. What matters is knowing _why _Mr. Gelding and Mr. Vosnishblolbov-” 

“Voskoboynikov,” the substitute corrects.

“Yeah, you,” Henry dismisses him, “why are _you _guys here, and not our normal teachers. They were fine when we saw them last. So what happened?” 

He says this last part with a sharp look at Ray and Schwoz, who at least have the decency to look sheepish. 

“Erm. We don’t want to be here. But this morning we get call from principal. Very frantic, looking for substitutes. Say something about green fingers.”

Schwoz cringes, shrinking back as Henry, Charlotte, and Jasper turn to him, horror splashed across their faces as they remember the virus that almost took Henry’s family, Charlotte, and Ray all out. 

“Look. I don’t care about the particulars. Just get your junk on the coach and let’s get going, we’re already running behind schedule and I’m not breaking speed laws just because you guys wanted to stand in the parking lot and discuss disease,” the bus driver asserts, all but pushing Ray and Schwoz towards the luggage hold on the coach. 

While Ray and Scwhoz busy themselves loading their luggage (2 large suitcases, 3 smaller suitcases and 2 dubiously shaped duffel bags), Oliver, Sidney, Charlotte, Henry, and Jasper file onto the coach, Sidney and Oliver arguing about who’s gonna sit where (Oliver wants to sit in the aisle seat, because if he sits in the window seat, he’ll have to reapply sunscreen every hour so he doesn’t get hit with too much UV. Sidney has to have the aisle seat because he needs to be able to stretch his legs and since Oliver’s legs aren’t as long as his Sidney should definitely get the aisle seat). 

Charlotte, Henry, and Jasper speak in hushed whispers and waved arms, none of them able to fully comprehend what happened not even five minutes ago. 

“I can’t believe this. Just when I thought we’d made it clear to them that there was absolutely no way- ” Charlotte is cut off as she walks straight into Oliver’s back.

Oliver and Sidney still haven’t decided who sits where, and they’re stood in the middle of the coach as they try to make a final decision. 

“I’m just saying, UV rays are more dangerous than cramped legs Sidney. I just wish you’d think about _me _for once,” Oliver whines. 

“I always think about you! Just the other day I let you cut my avocado for me because you wanted to show me your new avocado cutting technique!”

The argument threatens to continue, but Henry cuts it short, squeezing past Charlotte to put a hand on both their shoulders. 

“Look guys how about I hook my jacket over the window handles, and then Oliver can sit in the window seat and not worry about the UV, and Sidney you’ll have space for your legs,” Henry offers, pulling his hoodie over his head and leaning over the seats to properly hook it over the window handles so that it blocks out light. 

“Easy solve!”

He dusts his hands off as Sidney and Oliver and Sidney move into their seats and the three of them get moving to the row of seats at the very back. Henry thanks his lucky stars that Debby Putch is in L.I.M.P. because if it wasn’t for her need to travel in only the best, then who knows what kind of transport they’d have to Palo Alto. A small crowded van, or even worse, travelling in teacher’s cars. He shudders at the thought. This way there’s enough space for the three of them to sit right at the back, away from Ray and Schwoz, but also away from the rest of the L.I.M.P crew. 

The three of them toss their backpacks into the overhead luggage and slide into the back row. Henry first, occupying the seat closest to the window (tall enough to block out the sun), Jasper in the middle (the best shoulders to sleep on) and Charlotte on Jasper’s other side (reaping both benefits with the added bonus of more space). 

Soon enough, Ray and Schwoz make their way onto the coach, the driver trailing behind them. 

They flinch as the driver starts speaking. 

“Alright! We have a long drive ahead of us, and we’re already running late so we will be making ONE stop at our halfway point in Bakersfield for food. Any impromptu toilet stops will be on the side of the road, I have toilet paper in the glove compartment for such eventualities. Understood?”

Everyone murmurs in agreement, and Debby shoots Ray and Schwoz a menacing look. 

“Alright, good stuff! Now, your tardy teachers are gonna do the roll-call, and we’re gonna get this show on the road.”

At the words “roll-call” a look of panic settles on Ray’s face. When him and Schwoz had set their plan in motion they’d taken care of everything else - changing the teaching roster for the school trip, sending out apologetic emails detailing the change of plans, even faking a medical diagnosis for Schwoz’s icky dusease - but they’d completely forgotten about roll-call. Ray looks to Charlotte for help, and she rolls her eyes at him before sighing. She starts mouthing something exaggeratedly, and it takes a few minutes for Ray to realise that she’s trying to help him with names. 

Ray squints, hand on hips.

“Si...sid… knee? Sidney!” Ray questions as Charlotte points at her own, before realisation dawns on him. 

Sidney jolts, a sharp “present!” escaping his lips. 

Charlotte nods, and shoots Ray a thumbs up, before pointing at Jasper. 

“Jasper,”

“Aye aye Captain,” Jasper responds, earning him a disdainful look from Ray. 

They make their way through the roll call like this, Charlotte pointing and mouthing while Ray tries to pick up on her clues in the most natural manner possible. When it comes to the end, Debby affirming her presence with a disinterested “here” Ray breathes a sigh of relief, and Charlotte leans back in her seat. 

“Right. Everyone’s here. You’re all ready to go,” the driver states as he settles in, buckles up, and starts the engine, forcing Ray and Schwoz to fall into the nearest seats to avoid being standing when the coach finally takes off. Charlotte waits a while, and as the coach rolls out of the parking lot and sets a steaddy pace on their way to Palo Alto, she checks on everyone else. Ray and Schwoz seem to have fallen asleep in the front, the pressure of being teachers for five minutes seemingly having them beat. Debby is back to staring out the window, earbuds in ears, and Sidney and Oliver have spiralled into yet another useless argument. 

“Hey guys,” Charlotte whispers, drawing Jasper and Henry’s attention to her. 

“What are we gonna do about Ray and Schwoz?”

Jasper and Henry shrug. There aren’t many options when you’re on a coach to Palo Alto surrounded by people who think your highly unqualified boss is a teacher. 

“I mean. I guess as long as they don’t cause trouble…” Jasper trails off, but even he knows that’s a lot to hope for. Trouble clings to Ray like a koala, and no matter how hard they try to avoid it the three of them always get caught up in whatever chaos he falls into. 

The three of them sigh, falling into silence, and before Charlotte knows she’s fallen into a deep sleep, head propped up on Jasper’s shoulder as the coach makes its way to Bakersfield. 

It doesn’t feel like she’s been asleep for long when Charlotte is woken up by the coach coming to a screeching halt. She takes a look outside, shielding her eyes against the sun. They’re in the parking lot of a shopping complex/food-court, and even at this time of year it is bustling with tourists. 

“Right, you guys have one hour to pee, eat, stretch your legs, go crazy before we meet back here at 12:45. On the dot,” he glares at Ray and Schowz, who are both oblivious to his statement, clipping fanny packs around their waists. 

The driver has barely opened the doors, when Debby shoots up and pushes past, phone and wallet in hand, muttering about finding a bathroom. 

“Oh man. I thought for sure she was gonna pee on the bus. It’s been _four hours_,” Henry muses as he pulls the trio’s backpacks down from the overhead shelf. 

“Yeah I mean, she seemed pretty desperate when we stopped for Oliver and Sidney,” Jasper replies, rubbing the nape of his neck. 

“Wait. We stopped before?” Charlotte asks. 

She didn’t realise how deeply she’d been asleep. 

“Yeah you slept through the whole bus ride, Jasp and I couldn’t play cards because you had your head on his shoulder the whole time,” Henry chuckles. 

“Must’ve been some good sleep, I think you drooled a little,” Jasper says, pointing to the corner of her mouth. 

Charlotte grimaces, and attempts to discreetly wipe away any drool that may be left. She stretches her arms, accepting her backpack from Henry. 

They make their way off the coach, shielding their eyes against the sun. Once in the parking lot they take some time to adjust to their surroundings, before heading to the cafe with the shortest line. If they only get an hour they don’t want to spend all that time waiting for food. Once they’ve gotten a table and placed their orders, they wait, all three scrolling through their phones, eager to catch up on any news they might have missed out on while travelling. So far nothing exciting has happened, their Twitflash feeds only being taken up by Piper’s celebrations at Henry being out of the house. 

“Wow, if she’s this happy I’m out of the house for a _week_, she’s gonna throw a party when I go to college,” he grumbles as he reads yet another post. This one is a picture of Piper sitting in the bathroom captioned “all mine until my big idiot brother comes back from his dumb school trip #nomorebathroomhog”. 

They’re all chuckling continuing to flick through social media, when suddenly Ray’s voice comes from behind Henry. 

“Hey guys, how you doing?”

He cheerfully pulls up a chair, sitting between Henry and Jasper, while Schwoz sits between Henry and Charlotte. 

“Well, we were just wondering how _exactly _you plan on making this work. What with you not being teachers and all,” Charlotte raises her eyebrow. 

Ray sighs, and he looks genuinely anxious as he replies. 

“I don’t know. I don’t think we thought this through. We were so ready to just be on a trip with you guys that we forgot that there would be _other kids _on this trip. We’re used to being responsible for you guys, but these guys? Whole different ball game. Like Sidney. _Why _does he ask so many questions? Why does he know so much about avocados? And why does he think _I _wanna know what he knows? I’m the teacher not him!” 

The trio snicker, picturing Ray trapped in some awkward bathroom line conversation with Sidney about the replenishing qualities of avocado oil. 

“It’s not funny!” he yells. 

“It kinda is,” Jasper says. 

“Oh it’s hilarious. Specifically because you wouldn’t be going _through_ this if you hadn’t snuck on the trip,” Henry points out. 

Ray throws his hands up in defeat. 

“Look while we’re all here, just us, I think we should lay down some rules,” Charlotte pauses as the waitress places their food in front of them, shooting her a smile in thanks. 

“Like I was saying, rules.”

The boys all groan in unison, but Charlotte won’t hear any of it, grabbing a napkin and pulling a pen out of the side pocket of her backpack. 

“Right. Rule one, no HD stuff. At all whatsoever, which means you guys need to give your gumball tubes to Jasper. You will get them back after the trip,” she scribbles onto the napkin while Ray and Henry shoot each other surprised looks. 

“How did you know?” Henry asks, reluctantly pulling his out of his backpack, and placing it into Jasper’s outstretched hand. 

“You guys are nothing if not extremely predictable,” she quips. 

“Yeah, yeah. What are the rest of your rules.”

“There’s only one other one. We have to act normal, like teacher and student around each other. Which means you have to treat us like you treat the others, and we can’t hang out like we normally do.”

She finishes writing the instructions on the napkin, signing at the bottom before handing it to Schwoz to sign. They all put their signatures at the bottom, but Ray pauses before signing. 

“Wait a second. If we can’t hang out, then what was the _point _of us coming on this trip,” he asks. 

“The point is you shouldn’t be on this trip. And to make sure no one finds out you aren’t qualified teachers and gives Debby’s mom a reason to sue the school, we need to get through this week in the most normal way possible. Understood?”

Ray grumbles his agreement before signing and handing the napkin back to Charlotte. 

“Great. Because we need to eat and get back on that coach before the driver chews you guys out for being late. Again.”

The group finishes their lunch, paying their bill and rushing to the coach and getting on with five minutes to spare. 

“Alright! Everyone here and accounted for, ready to go?” the driver asks, not bothering to wait for an answer before closing the doors and starting the engine. Everyone settles into their seats, busying themselves with something as they embark on their final stretch towards Palo Alto, the landscape rushing by. 

Compared to the first half of the trip, the rest of the drive is uneventful. Sidney and Oliver have fallen asleep, which probably accounts for the decrease in useless arguments. Debby is , unsurprisingly, nodding along to whatever music is playing in her earphones, and Ray and Schwoz have unfortunately had to take up the responsibility of listening to the driver tell stories about every single trip he’s driven in this coach.

Time flies, and before they know it, the group have pulled up outside a tall building, the middle of which seems to move up and down revolving as it does so. 

“We’re here folks! Just offload your stuff and you can be on your way!” the driver exclaims, idling the engine and opening the doors. 

The kids shuffle off the bus, heads tilted up in awe, as they watch a portion of the building move up and down while spinning in a circle. They shuffle into the building, taking in the grand interior, surprised that the boarding school looks less like a boarding school and more like a business building. 

“Um are you guys here from… Smellview?”

The kids cringe as the receptionist inquires, completely unaware of her blunder. 

“It’s Swellview,” Ray corrects as she rolls an eye, typing away on the sleek keyboard in front of her. 

“Right,” she smacks her gum before handing out some name tags. 

“Put those on, and just step into the roomavator when it comes down. I’ll let Mr. Grundy and the prodigies know you’ve arrived, and in the meantime you can look around.”

Before they can get a question out, she’s turned her attention back to the screen before her, seemingly uninterested in the group of kids before her. There’s a pause before the room fills with sounds of awe, the small group looking at the walls of newspaper articles, prototypes, certificates and reports on display for the public. 

“Look at all this stuff, their Z-phone has the fastest processing chip, it operates at speeds that you expect a computer to work at. Amazing.”

Schwoz is all but drooling as he scans over the specs for their latest phone. 

Charlotte has found her way over to the wall that holds pictures of the latest graduates from the prodigy program.

“Hey Hen, Jasper, look at this. This girl, Lexi Reed, basically a human calculator, she was in the top one percent for Math in the _country. _And that blowout is amazing.”

The trio murmur in awe, taking in Lexi’s shiny blonde locks in the picture, where she holds her diploma, and a very well decorated graduation cap rests on her head. 

“Oh yeah look, and this guy made a whole new animal using gene splicing in the school lab,” Henry exclaims, pointing at a picture of a young boy holding what appears to be a goose, with the wings of a chicken, and the beak of an eagle. 

The group are more than willing to continue gawking over the fancy tech and excellent graduates, when the elevator doors open, and the secretary gestures for them to go inside, before the doors shut again and they are whisked off higher into the building. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Danger meet the Z-Tech kids, and Charlotte has hope for the week to come.

The air in the elevator is filled with nervous energy, none of them knowing what to expect. Charlotte had been really excited for this trip, but now that they were only a few floors from meeting these prodigies, her stomach began to turn.

These kids were prodigies. _Prodigies_. Naturally talented people, who excelled in what they did. Being a prodigy was a lot different to just studying really hard or dedicating all your time to something. For the first time in a long time, Charlotte was feeling way out of her depth. She looks over at Jasper and Henry, both seemingly locked in a furious whisper conversation. She’s too far to hear what they’re whispering about, but it seems serious, every word accompanied by a finger point or hand-wave. Realising that there’s not going to be a reassuring smile from either of them, she closes her eyes and takes some deep breaths. They’re here to get _away _from the pressures of their normal lives. What good would it do to compare herself to these prodigies anyway? She was happy with who she was, and if she felt out of her depth, then so be it. Maybe she needed a little something to shake up her life.

Not that being a part of Team Danger wasn’t exciting, it had just become… monotonous. Her, Jasper, and Schwoz in the man cave, taking care of the logistics and investigating for not that much pay (and even less respect) and Ray and Henry getting to save the day and reap the benefits of it (most times). She liked her job, she really did, but between working in the Man Cave, manning the Junk ‘n Stuff storefront on a slow crime day (most days actually), school, and extra-curriculars, Charlotte hadn’t really had the time to make that many friends her age. And even though they were in a different state, different city, she figured now might be the time to do exactly that.

The elevator comes to a stop, the sleek doors sliding open into a room full of kids staring directly at them. An awkward silence hangs in the air as the L.I.M.P kids step out into the room. Charlotte doesn’t know what to do. Does she introduce them? Or is it the Z-Tech kids’ jobs as the host school to get the ball rolling? Charlotte isn’t waiting for an answer for long. A black girl with blonde-tipped hair and dark purple nails steps forward, a bright smile on her face.

“I’m Chyna Parks, welcome to Z-Tech! We’ve all been really excited to meet you guys, see we’ve never heard of-”

There’s a pause as she tries to remember what she’d never heard of, smile faltering only a little.

“Swellview,” a blonde girl whispers.

“Swellview! We really hope you guys will like it here,” she finishes.

“Thank you! We’re excited to be here too,” Charlotte replies, “oh and I’m Charlotte Page-Bolton,” she adds on, not wanting to seem rude.

It’s not long before more of the Z-Tech kids get up, and soon chatter begins to fill the room.

Charlotte is immediately whisked away by Chyna, who ushers her over to one of the couches.

“So, I didn’t wanna say anything back there, but your gifted and talented club is really…”

“White?” Charlotte fills in.

Chyna grimaces. “Yeah. Sorry.”

Charlotte just shrugs. “Oh just wait ‘til you see Swellview. If you ever somehow find yourself there.”

“Yikes.”

Yikes is really the only way she can describe it. Charlotte’s always noticed the general whiteness of Swellview, and it’s not that it never bothered her, being the only black girl in her friend group, or in L.I.M.P, but she was just used to it. Th situation was way out of her control, so dwelling on it would only give her a headache. So instead, she chose to just do the best she could.

“Well, you’ve got me for one week! And hey, maybe after this we can meet up again, but I’ll come to _you _this time. Although, I don’t know what we’d do. We looked up Swellview last night and it seems kinda boring – no offence.”

“None taken, it’s not a hive of activity but I feel like we could find something to do. Have you ever had Nacho Ball?”

“What the hell is Nacho Ball?”

“Oh you’re going to love it,” Charlotte says, giddy with excitement. She knows it’s foolish to make future plans with someone based solely off the fact that they are the only two black girls in the room, but _seriously_. This is exactly what she came here to do. Make friends and learn about the Z-Tech program. And besides, Chyna seemed fun.

“So, what’s your talent?” Charlotte asks, hoping she doesn’t sound too forward. Was it okay to ask prodigies what their thing was? Or was it on a need to know basis?

“Oh I’m a musical prodigy. Not that great at science, or math, or any other academic subject really, but I know how to play every instrument, and if there’s an instrument I can’t play, give me some days and I will own it. I can sing too. And I act a little.”

Charlotte hopes she doesn’t look _too _awestruck, but from the way Chyna rubs the nape of her neck, she probably does.

“Sorry. I don’t mean to brag.”

“No! I mean. It’s okay. If you can do all those things, then it’s fine for you to tell people you can do them. I’m just impressed because I can only play guitar, but that took me years to learn.”

Chyna looks like she’s about to say something when they’re interrupted by a short boy with a beret on his head. He holds a sketchbook in his hand, and there’s a pencil tucked behind his ear. Charlotte doesn’t need to ask to know what his talent is. Art. Well, traditional art, she guesses. Drawing, painting, that kind of thing.

“Hey Chyna, don’t hog all the pretty girls,” he says shooting Charlotte an over the top wink. He squeezes in next to her, resting his elbow on the back of the couch.

Charlotte wonders if he’s met Henry yet.

“Fletcher, if you’re gonna sit that close to her, you should probably introduce yourself,” Chyna says with a roll of her eyes.

“Oh right, I’m Fletcher Quimby. Pleasure to meet you.” He gives Charlotte’s hand a kiss.

“Gross.”

Charlotte turns, and standing in front of her is the blonde girl from earlier.

“Hi, I’m Olive Doyle, and unlike short stack over here, I will not slobber all over your hand.”

She flashes Charlotte a smile, before turning to narrow her eyes at Fletcher. He just sticks his tongue out at her.

“Give it a rest you guys, give Charlotte some time to adjust.”

Charlotte wants to point out that she’s okay, really, but Jasper and Henry are close behind Olive, and between them, a chubby boy in cargo shorts clutching a tablet who keeps flicking his dark hair out of his eyes as he talks to Jasper and Henry.

“Yo! Charlotte!” Henry bellows, as they come closer.

“Henry.”

“You need to meet Angus. He’s a tech _god_,” Henry says excitedly.

Angus just chuckles modestly. “Oh stop it Henry I’m not _that _great.”

Chyna and Charlotte share a look. Olive rolls her eyes. Fletcher wrinkles his nose in disgust.

“Guys, these are my friends, Jasper and Henry,” Charlotte starts, but before she can finish Olive jumps in excitedly.

“Wait a second are you Jasper Dunlop as in _the _Jasper Dunlop, host of the best bucketeering podcast _ever_?”

“Olive not every Jasper we meet is-”

“Yeah? You listen to my podcast?”

“Uh, _yeah_. Do you know how hard it is to find good podcasts about bucket collecting _anywhere_? And you do your research. You would _not _believe how many people have gotten their buckets mixed up while on their shows.”

“I know right? It’s so annoying like how can you mistake an 1870 copper handle for a 1970 copper handle? They’re a century apart people!”

Charlotte is confused. In fact, she’s willing to guess that _everyone _is confused. People in _Swellview _didn’t listen to Jasper’s podcast, and now they get to Palo Alto and one of these people happens to not just listen to his podcast, but be an _actual _bucketeer? She definitely needed a moment to adjust now.

“Woah woah woah, wait a second. _You _collect buckets? You don’t seem like a bucket collector,” Henry says.

“Why not? Because I’m a girl? And the correct term is bucketeer.”

She narrows her eyes at Henry, but there’s a hint of amusement dancing in the blue of them.

“Well not because you’re a girl, but because you’re a pretty girl,” Henry hazards, and he grimaces the moment the words come out of his mouth. Charlotte can hear Chyna trying to hold in her laugh, and she struggles to do the same.

“You know, that’s what _I _said to her when she started listening to this podcast, you know. Bucketeering isn’t a girl hobby,” Angus agrees, nodding his head emphatically.

Olive just shrugs. “I have an eidetic memory, meaning I remember everything, including things I see, hear, and read, which makes it super easy to pick up on niche hobbies. And bucketeering is one of them. I also became a bucketeer because my ex-girlfriend listened to the podcast and I was trying to impress her, and then I ended up actually liking it.”

“So that’s two people from Palo Alto who are bucketeers. It really is a world of possibilities out here,” Jasper muses.

Charlotte just shakes her head. This was _not _what she expected to come from this trip, but anything was possible she guessed. Chyna sees Charlotte’s expression and smiles.

“That’s not even the weirdest of Olive, trust me, she’s absolutely nuts.”

“And still you remain my best friend,” Olive replies with a smug grin, ignoring the way Chyna looks at her.

The group talks for a little while longer, before they’re all called to attention by a tall man with a black tablet in his hand. He looks more excited than everyone in the room combined, a drastic difference from the blonde woman next to him, who inspects her nails blankly.

“Welcome Swellview students! I’m Zoltan Grundy, the principal of Z-Tech and I’m so sorry I couldn’t be here to greet you the moment you stepped off the bus, but I trust that my students have made you feel very welcome,” he bellows.

A murmur ripples across the room, but he pays it no mind, continuing his welcome. “The room situation is as follows. Your teachers,” he gestures towards Schwoz and Ray “will sleep in the staff quarters, Charlotte Page and Debbie Putch, you can be with either Olive Doyle or Chyna Parks, take your pick.”

Chyna immediately grabs onto Charlotte, and Charlotte sees the look of dismay on Debbie’s face as she realises she won’t be rooming with whichever girl she’d gotten into deep conversation with.

“Henry Hart, you will be with Fletcher Quimby.” Fletcher gives Henry an up-nod, and Henry smiles back.

“Jasper Dunlop you will be with Angus Chestnut.” Angus and Jasper high five. 

“And now normally, we don’t do this, but since Sidney and Oliver so nicely requested for us not to separate them,” Mr Grundy grimaces, and Charlotte can only imagine the whining and wheedling that he had to put up with from Sidney and Oliver, “they will be staying in their own separate room, because here at Z-Tech we aim to be as accommodating as possible to our guests. Your hosts will show you to your room, and I hope you guys have a splendid night! Rest well, we have a busy day tomorrow!”

He ends his speech, and the excited chatter returns to the room as everyone grabs their luggage, heading off to their rooms.

Chyna, Olive, Charlotte, Debbie, Jasper, Henry, Fletcher, and Angus all pile into the elevator closing the doors behind them.

After introducing Debbie to Olive, an awkward silence fills the elevator, and Charlotte is relieved when it finally stops, doors opening into a long hallway with doors on either side.

“So. This is our stop,” Chyna says, “the boys’ rooms are on a different floor.”

Charlotte, Henry and Jasper say their goodbyes, but she knows they’ll be on their phones talking all night anyways.

Charlotte follows Chyna down the hall, saying goodbye to Debbie (who looks less than please when Olive starts rattling off facts about the geography of California) as her and Chyna make their way to Chyna’s room.

“So. Here we are. I have to warn you, it’s kind of a mess,” Chyna says as she bumps the door open.

“It’s not that bad,” Charlotte reassures when she can see into the room. There’s sheet music scattered everywhere. On the bed, on her desk, stuck to the mirror, on the walls. It’s not so much messy as it is spread out.

Charlotte opens up her suitcase, getting ready to start unpacking when her phone beeps.

Opening it up, she finds a picture from Henry of Fletcher’s room. There’s art everywhere. Sculptures, paintings, drawings, all stuck on his walls, or lining his desk.

**[Hen 7:32pm]: ** _All of this is his art. He had his art in like this super posh exhibition when he was twelve. TWELVE!!_

Charlotte is impressed, and she texts back. Her phone beeps again and this time its Jasper. There’s no text, but just a video attachment. In it she can see Angus’s room, which unsurprisingly looks exactly how she’d pictured it. There are 3 screens at his desk, and in the video he seems to be decoding something, face scrunched in concentration.

_Tech Genius never rests huh? _

Her thoughts are interrupted by the beep of her phone yet again. This time it’s the Junk ‘n Stuff group chat.

**[Ray 7:35pm]: ** Guys what do we do, he’s asking us about school policies and how we ‘cultivate your talents’. Whatever that means.

**[Jasp 7:35pm]: **Make something up

**[Schwoz 7:36pm]: **He’s a principal he will know we are lying o_O

**[Hen 7:37pm]: **Yeah because you are :)

**[Ray 7:39pm]: **Not helping. We came to you guys for help not bullying :-(

Charlotte wants to tuck her phone away and ignore it. Ray and Schwoz got themselves into the mess, they should get themselves out. Instead she types up a text message with the condensed goals of L.I.M.P and all the things Ms. Shapen used to do to get them to do their best. It will have to be enough for tonight, because Chyna lets her know that lights out is pretty soon, and she better not leave her night routine too late otherwise she’ll be twisting her hair in the dark. 

She puts her phone away, spending the rest of her night doing her skincare and getting her hair up, before she slides into the bed, doing her best to visualise how this next week might go before she drifts off into a calm sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was hard to write mostly because it's a filler and i just did nawt know what to put here. BUT the next one will be more exciting :)   
you can follow me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/heartfemmes) and [tumblr](http://heartmirrors.tumblr.com)! thank you for reading and i will do my best to update quicker I swear!


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